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Chart to Watch: Despite inevitable dips, markets have grown over time
Periods of market volatility and declines can lead investors to believe that the pain felt by those losses will continue indefinitely. But despite multiple intra-year declines, the chart below shows that financial markets have grown substantially over time.
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Apr 9, 2025
2 minute read
2 minute read
Key takeaways:
- While the volatility experienced in early April created a lot of uncertainty, it’s important to remember that intra-year declines historically have rarely translated to the market being down for the entire year.
- Looking back to 2001, we see that the S&P 500 has suffered significant declines at various points nearly every year, with an average annual intra-year decline of 16% during that time.
- Despite those inevitable market declines, the market experienced a full-year decline in only five of the past 24 years.
Source: FactSet and S&P U.S., daily data. Returns are based on the S&P 500 price index, excluding dividends. As of 8 April 2025. Past performance cannot guarantee future results.
Investors must remember that the present is a magnifying glass. The feelings we experience during market declines – and during rallies, for that matter – tend to be outsized compared to what’s really happening, and the big picture gets lost in the moment. This chart reminds us that even though declines happen frequently, the market has grown substantially over the long term. During times like these, staying focused on our goals and maintaining perspective can help keep us on track.
–Ben Rizzuto, Wealth Strategist
Definitions
S&P 500® Index reflects U.S. large-cap equity performance and represents broad U.S. equity market performance.
Volatility is the rate and extent at which the price of a portfolio, security or index, moves up and down. If the price swings up and down with large movements, it has high volatility. If the price moves more slowly and to a lesser extent, it has lower volatility. The higher the volatility the higher the risk of the investment.
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Key takeaways:
- While the volatility experienced in early April created a lot of uncertainty, it’s important to remember that intra-year declines historically have rarely translated to the market being down for the entire year.
- Looking back to 2001, we see that the S&P 500 has suffered significant declines at various points nearly every year, with an average annual intra-year decline of 16% during that time.
- Despite those inevitable market declines, the market experienced a full-year decline in only five of the past 24 years.